John Maynard Keynes

John Maynard Keynes, (born June 5, 1883, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Eng.—died April 21, 1946, Firle, Sussex) English economist, journalist, and financier, best known for his economic theories (Keynesian economics) on the causes of prolonged unemployment. His most important work, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1935–36), advocated a remedy for economic recession based on a government-sponsored policy of full employment.

John Maynard Keynes, detail of a watercolour by Gwen Raverat, about 1908; in the National Portrait …

Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London

Background and early career

Keynes was born into a moderately prosperous family. His father, John Neville Keynes, was an economist and later an academic administrator at the King’s College, Cambridge. His mother was one of the first female graduates of ... (100 of 1,573 words)